You and I are not so different Liv

I love my job. I love the kids, I love the parents, and I love being a mentor. But sometimes, in fact MOST times on my days off, I want to be left ALONE. I want to take off the teacher hat and put on the mommy hat. I want to walk down to the beach and play on the swings with my B. I want to go to Target without makeup on, or go to music class and talk with other moms, and NOT about how their kid can improve their grammar grade. I do not want to talk on the phone or feign interest in other people's kids. Though I really am interested in their kids on Mondays and Wednesdays, the rest of the week I WANT TO TALK ABOUT MY KID!!! This anonymity is becoming increasingly more difficult the more years that I teach. It seems I am always running into someone I know. And when I have the kid with me, FUGHETTABOUTIT. I stand there juggling my squirmy little B while I hear about recent soccer games, what dance class their kid is in, how they are doing in high school, what they are up to this weekend and on and on and I PRAY silently to God, that if my kid would just hold still for a minute and if she would just smile and act cute in front of my students and their families, and POSSIBLY let them hold her (seriously, people are always asking to hold her) that I would do MANY good deeds that upcoming week, including possibly answering my jury duty summit and not writing return to sender on the envelope any longer. And for the most part, Brinkster is her charming little self. But the stress that it causes is almost too much to bear. So all this to say, that sometimes, sometimes when I am just not feeling into it, I will occasionally put my sunglasses on, turn and walk in the other direction before I am bombarded with people. I know, I know. Evil right? Maybe not so. Last week I took Sprinkles to DIsneyland with my family. We were having a grand time, walking around the park, sharing in good times, eating a big fat churro and going on rides. We were in line for Peter Pan and Miss B was getting antsy. We waited in line for 45 minutes and this is a long time for a toddler. So to keep her busy I sang songs, tickled her, hung her upside down and did anything I could do to distract. When all of the sudden, I look two twists behind me in line and I see a student and her family. SO not in the mood at that point, and I knew that Miss B was not in a smiling giggling other people holding her kind of mood. So what did I do? I put on the Pradas. Yup. I stuck my sunglasses on, pulled my cute hat down and turned the other way. I hissed at my family members to not call my name out loud and we made it unnoticed through the whole line. Then an odd occurrence, well, occurred. We got to the front of the line, just about to get on the flying ship when the ride attendant put out her arm in front of us while a full ship stopped in front of us. A small party of 3 had apparently gotten on the exits. Miss B leaned back in my arms and giggled loudly while I tickled her, when I noticed the mom of the ship smiling at B, and then looking up at me. It was Liv Tyler. When I gave her that look of recognition after a moment of what I'm sure could have only looked like I was confused. (I always think I know famous people before I realize that they're famous, I sit there like an idiot thinking, did I go to high school with this person? did I teach their kid? did I serve them at RUby's back in the day?) As soon as the lightbulb went on she looked down and was off to the third star to the right and straight on until morning. I made sure to text my friends after this and even saw Liv (who is TINY by the way) walk off in her flannel shirt and jean shorts and fedora hat with her kid and husband, going around Disneyland unnoticed. When asked by everyone I knew WHY I didn't snap a photo with my phone or ask for her autograph, I simply told them, she just wanted to be with her family, put on the mommy hat and go unnoticed, just for one day.